Marilyn Biderman

Marilyn has opened up to queries from November 27th until December 15th!

Please send her your queries for:

– Upmarket fiction/Accessible literary fiction – the kind found in book clubs and/or on prize lists, and if they include social justice issues, all the better.
– Historical fiction with generational family drama about displacement, also, specifically about Mizrachi and Sephardic cultures.
– Narrative non-fiction written by journalists who have a personal stake in their subject matter.
– Would love to hear from the next prominent dog expert with a platform!

Please no military, religion, and definitely no AI.

If you would like to submit, please send an email to querymarilyn@transatlanticagency.com, and include a 25-page sample from your manuscript in the body of the email, as well as a brief author biography.

Queries from BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ writers are most especially welcome.

Marilyn can’t wait to hear from you!

Areas of Interest: Literary fiction; sweet-spot fiction, that is, accessible but literary in intent (often found at book clubs); literary crime fiction; and women’s commercial and historical fiction. I love memoir with an utterly unique story and brilliant writing; narrative non-fiction on compelling and newsworthy topics that anticipate trends; expert non-fiction of wide appeal from authors with established social media platforms; and biographies of fascinating lives. I don’t handle children’s books, except for young adult novels with cross-over appeal (very selectively, and only by referral); or poetry, screenplays, science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy for adult readers.

To serve her clients well, Marilyn can only accept new clients by referral. She frequently engages in community outreach to champion under-represented voices. 

Before joining the Transatlantic Agency, Marilyn worked at her own literary agency and consultancy practice for seven years, where she helped launch the careers of début and prize-winning authors. She had previously worked at McClelland & Stewart for twelve years, most recently as Vice President, Director, Rights and Contracts. At M&S, she handled the international rights for many renowned authors, including Leonard Cohen, Alistair MacLeod, and Madeleine Thien.

Marilyn is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, and also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in English Literature. She has guest-lectured at the publishing programs at Humber College, Ryerson University, Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, and taught a course in the publishing program at Centennial College. She has also mentored many publishers under the auspices of the Association of Canadian Publishers and the Canada Council, and has acted as a juror in literary competitions. She has authored several papers on copyright law; served on the inaugural executive of the Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents; and was a member for many years of the organizing committee for the International Visitors Program of the Toronto International Festival of Authors. She also, for many years, served as a member of the Professional Advisory Council for Sheridan College’s Creative Writing & Publishing Program, and as a board member, most recently as chair, of Canada’s dance magazine, The Dance Current. Marilyn is especially proud of her work with the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog program.